89: Chapter 89 Perhaps we will meet again soon.

After returning to his room, Lu Li packed his luggage very quickly, and after confirming he hadn't left anything behind, he dragged his suitcase out the door.

Just as he stepped outside, he instinctively glanced across the hall.

The door to the room was wide open, and inside, aside from some basic facilities, it was completely empty.

Had she left already?

Lu Li shook his head, a subtle and indescribable feeling suddenly welling up in his heart, as if a piece of it had hollowed out.

Before long, he withdrew his gaze, picked up his suitcase, and went downstairs.

In the first-floor living room, staff members were packing up equipment, and the entire space was in a mess.

Aside from the staff, Lu Li didn't see anyone else; they must have left long ago.

Without lingering, Lu Li dragged his suitcase out of the apartment, stood at the entrance, and his gaze fell on a commercial vehicle slowly driving toward him.

"Teacher Lu, your car has arrived."

The voice of a staff member came from beside him.

Lu Li nodded, shoved his suitcase into the trunk, pulled open the back seat door, and climbed in.

Soon, the car slowly drove out of the resort and headed toward the airport along the coastal highway.

Coconut groves, beaches, and waves flashed past the window frame by frame.

Lu Li watched for a good while, then withdrew his gaze, took out his phone, and opened WeChat.

There was a new contact in his address book.

What amused Lu Li was that Shen Qingxue's profile picture turned out to be an adorable little kitten.

If Shen Qingxue hadn't added him personally, he would have probably thought this was a fake account.

As for her Moments feed, there was no content at all, only a gray horizontal line.

Lu Li couldn't help muttering to himself inwardly.

Had she blocked him, or had she just never posted anything to Moments?

Lu Li stared at it for a few seconds, then put away his phone, deciding to take a nap first.

However, the moment he closed his eyes, his experiences with Shen Qingxue over the past few days subconsciously surfaced in his mind with crystal clarity.

As he thought about it, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved upward.

But at that moment, Lu Li suddenly realized something and abruptly opened his eyes.

What was going on?

What was he just thinking about?

No, this was extremely suspicious.

Lu Li's brow furrowed instinctively. Not only was his inner train of thought very active, but his expression even became animated.

It was probably just pure unfamiliarity; after all, he had been staying with Shen Qingxue these past few days.

Now that they were suddenly separated, it was normal not to adapt right away.

Right, exactly.

Lu Li convinced himself and leaned back against the seat, but that indescribable feeling in his heart still hadn't completely dissipated.

The car drove on the highway for about half an hour, and the scenery outside the window changed from coconut groves to tall buildings.

Lu Li picked up his phone, unlocked the screen, and tapped open Shen Qingxue's chat window.

The chat interface was blank, without a single message.

He stared at the blinking input cursor for a few flashes, then exited, and then tapped back in.

After repeating this three times, he took a deep breath and finally began to type.

"Why did you leave so quickly?"

After sending it, Lu Li stared at the screen for two seconds and then wanted to slap himself.

Why did you ask whether she left or not? What does it matter to you if she left?

Just as he was about to toss his phone back onto the seat, the screen suddenly lit up.

Shen Qingxue replied; it was almost an instant reply.

"Yeah, almost at the airport."

Lu Li was slightly stunned, then the corners of his mouth unconsciously twitched upward slightly before quickly pressing them down again.

He stared at those words for a few seconds, his fingers hesitating on the keyboard for a moment before continuing to type.

"Alright, have a safe trip, see you again if there's a chance."

After sending this message, Lu Li leaned back against the seat, looked at the street lamps rapidly retreating outside the car window, and let out a gentle sigh.

Just comforting people.

Given Shen Qingxue's celebrity status, she and he were merely two parallel lines. Heaven knows if there would ever be a chance to meet again in the future.

But at this moment, his phone vibrated again.

Lu Li lowered his head to look—Shen Qingxue had replied.

"Yeah, maybe we'll meet again soon."

Lu Li stared at those words, stunned for quite a while.

Soon? Maybe? Meet again?

What did that mean?

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind instantly, but every single one was ambiguous, impossible to grasp or sort out.

Lu Li straightened his posture, his fingers hovering over the keyboard, wanting to reply with something, but typing a few characters only to delete them, then typing them again.

After repeating this several times, he ultimately replied with just a single character.

"Oh."

After sending it, Lu Li looked at that lonely "Oh" and couldn't help cursing himself inwardly.

What was the meaning of replying with "Oh"? She said you might meet again soon, and you just replied with "Oh"?

But the message had already been sent out and couldn't be recalled.

Shen Qingxue didn't reply anymore, and Lu Li had no choice but to selectively ignore this matter.

Before long, the car arrived at the airport.

Without waiting long, Lu Li successfully boarded the plane. A short while later, the aircraft immediately took off in the direction of Modu.

...

By the time the plane landed, it was already evening.

Lu Li dragged his suitcase out of the terminal, flagged down a taxi, gave the address, and then leaned against the car window in a daze.

In about forty minutes or so, the taxi stopped at the entrance of a moderately sized residential complex.

Lu Li paid the fare and dragged his suitcase home.

The moment the door was pushed open, a rush of stale, stuffy air hit him head-on.

Lu Li dragged the suitcase inside, closed the door, and flipped on the lights.

The apartment was considered quite large, with three bedrooms and two living rooms. Moreover, this was the original body's apartment, the kind where he didn't need to pay rent.

Lu Li tossed the suitcase into the corner of the wall and then got ready to cook.

But right then, his phone happened to ring.

Lu Li fished out his phone to check—the caller was Director Zhou, and two seconds later, he answered the call.

"Hello, Director Zhou?"

"You're home?"

Director Zhou's voice came through the earpiece.

"Just got back."

"That's good."

Director Zhou paused for a moment, then cut straight to the point.

"Then I won't beat around the bush. I'm calling you to deal with the licensing matter for little dimples. According to our previous agreement..."

Director Zhou spoke at length all at once, very meticulously, covering some details that even Lu Li himself had overlooked.

In the end, Director Zhou's side offered an authorization fee of five million, which was already considered a very high price.

After all, Lu Li was only licensing it for three years, not selling the copyright.

The two of them exchanged a few more pleasantries and then hung up the phone.

Lu Li tossed his phone onto the sofa, leaned his entire body back against the backrest, stared at the ceiling, and let out a long breath.

Five million.

Although this sum of money wasn't considered a huge fortune in Modu, at least it allowed him to peaceably slack off for a while.

But right at this moment, his phone rang again.

Lu Li picked it up to look—it was an unfamiliar number.

He frowned, hesitated for a moment, and still answered it.

"Hello?"

"Lu Li?! You finally answered the phone!"

The voice coming through the earpiece was sharp and hurried, carrying an unsuppressible anger.

Lu Li's brow furrowed even tighter.

Why was it Sister Wang?